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Mom, Can You Make Me Pasta For Dinner?

My sweet daughter asked for Pasta for dinner. I would never deny her her food desires. I took out some hamburger and prepared to make giant meatballs and my favorite Garlic Pasta (recipe below). I happened to have a box of gluten free pasta I needed to try, so even though she is not sensitive to wheat I decided to make dinner with that. I was very happy with the Catelli brand, I will be using that again for myself.

The meatballs are easy to make and I will include the recipe below. I made them extra large so I could use them as individual portions for myself in future. They went in the freezer.

I placed the onion, garlic, and spices in a blender and pureed them. I then added them to the hamburger and breadcrumbs and combined. I shaped the meat into balls, drizzled ketchup on top, and baked them in a muffin tin at 350* for 30 minutes till they were 165* inside.

Pasta:

I used a 2 inch round of dried pasta sticks broken in half. Boil in well-salted water until tender, about 12 minutes in the case of this gluten free pasta.

Sauce:

In a small pan, I use my 8" T-fal fry pan, add olive oil to cover the bottom. Add 3-5 thinly sliced cloves of garlic to the oil ( for me more is better, like cover the bottom of the pan ) and toast until fragrant. Add a few red pepper flakes. Remove from heat, let cool slightly. Add a large handful of chopped fresh parsley to the oil, careful it's hot and may sputter, and then add the pasta ( drained ) to the pan and toss. It emulsifies into a pile of Garlic Love!! I also added a whole tomato chopped into cubes. It could have stood to have two tomatoes, but I only had one. It was divine.

I wish I could be in the kitchen with my Mom or my Granny. I have so many questions. I would want to hear their answers because I know they loved me and would share all they knew with me. That is what I would like my blog to feel like. A place to come and sit at the table in my kitchen and watch and talk and cook together. A gathering place, a safe place, a learning place.